Late last year, I had the opportunity to meet and interview five parliamentary secretaries, a young and energetic group of people who are learning the ropes in their first ever role in Cabinet.

I thought of meeting them to discuss what they have done since they were appointed to their position by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi just after the election in March 2008, and what they are planning for the future.

Unlike what I do in other interviews, I did not go to their office with a set of questions. I knew what their portfolio includes and what they are responsible for, and I just wanted the meeting to develop into more of a frank conversation, rather than a question and answer session.

I must say this worked out well because they all gave me valid news points anyway. But, more than this, they all came across as people who have worked hard, very often without going to the media to show one and all what they are doing.

In the silence of their office and far away from the public eye, they have made great strides forward in what they planned to do in this term of office, and they all look forward to the second half of their tenure to reap the fruit of what they have sown so far.

Jason Azzopardi, for example, as parliamentary secretary responsible for lands, this year will be presenting a law to define public property. This is the next logical step after the enactment of amendments to the Land Acquisitions (Public Purposes) Act. Dr Azzopardi will also be remembered how bars and restaurants occupying public land were made to remove their tables and chairs.

Clyde Puli, parliamentary secretary responsible for sport and youth, is working on a national youth policy that will soon be discussed at Cabinet level. This will deal with all aspects that young people are involved in, such as employment, education, health and sport.

Mario Galea, parliamentary secretary responsible for the elderly and community care, wanted to give great importance to his work on mental health, telling me that a crisis intervention team will be set up to possibly reduce the number of suicide cases. Naturally, he is also greatly involved in the current campaign to inoculate people against the A(H1N1) virus.

Joe Cassar, parliamentary secretary responsible for health, was preparing the launch of the primary health care reform when I interviewed him.

This has since been made public; its aim is to highlight the role of general practitioners and at the same time facilitate access to people’s personal health records.

Mario de Marco, parliamentary secretary for tourism and Mepa, spoke to me with cautious optimism about the prospects for the tourism industry this year, while highlighting the difficulties encountered during 2009. He is also pushing forward the Mepa reform that has just been approved by Cabinet, and this will be taken before Parliament in the weeks to come.

One or two of them – and I am referring particularly to Dr de Marco and Dr Cassar – could well be on their way to a promotion when Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi is “forced” to reorganise his Cabinet if and when John Dalli resigns as Social Policy Minister.

In the coming days, after Mr Dalli is “grilled” by the European Parliament on his plans for the European Union’s health and consumer policies, we will know more.

Dr de Marco is effectively already managing what were previously two ministries and, when I mentioned this to him in the interview, he shrugged it off with the humble comment “what’s in a name?” The fact that the Prime Minister entrusted him with Mepa, at a time when Dr de Marco’s input was needed in a tourism industry in difficulty, shows that Dr Gonzi knows that the Hamrun lawyer can work under pressure and can deliver.

Dr Cassar is seemingly the natural choice to replace Mr Dalli. Over the past two years, he has shown commitment and loyalty, and the probable resignation of Mr Dalli will possibly open up a new road for him much earlier than anticipated – unless the Prime Minister goes against his word and carries out a much wider restructuring of his team than he has hinted he will do.

These are a few good men that the PN can trust as it seeks to renew itself.

* * *

And, while these politicians are slowly building up their career, one step at a time, another Nationalist MP, Franco Debono, continues to shoot himself in the foot. The more he tries to clutch at straws, the more he is digging himself deeper into the self-made quagmire.

In comments given to a newspaper recently, he said that MPs are not party delegates but representatives of the people.

Well, well, well. Dr Debono seems to have forgotten that he contested the election on behalf of the Nationalist Party. If he did not want to be part of a team, he should have contested on his own.

Dr Debono should be thankful to the PN for giving him the opportunity to contest. He knows – or should know – that he would have never made it to the House of Representatives if he had joined Josie Muscat or Arnold Cassola, or had he contested as an independent candidate.

Got it, Franco?

* * *

If there was a need to prove that sports journalists are overawed by MFA president Joe Mifsud, his nomination last Monday as one of the five finalists in the official of the year award – this year being held for the first time by the Sportswriters Association in conjunction with the Malta Sports Council – is the cherry on the cake.

To nominate a person who heads an association that was in the eye of a hurricane of football bribery scandals throughout the past year for such an award is unthinkable. Last year, the premier league had to be suspended amid the chaos brought about by lengthy procedures when dealing with two bribery cases, which finished with two premier league clubs being demoted to the first division.

If such a thing had happened abroad, the president of such an association would have either resigned of his own free will or would have been forced to do so through media pressure. He would not have been nominated for an award. Dr Mifsud did not resign and the local sports media, after practically ignoring the issue, now comes up with this. It’s a shame.

The fact that Dr Mifsud was made UEFA vice-president does not compensate for the way the bribery cases were handled by the MFA. Dr Mifsud was and is in no way implicated in the corrupt practices, but following what happened last year to the association he leads and the way the image of football has been tarnished, he should have never been nominated for such an award, let alone make it to the final stages.

There’s another thing. I do not agree that sports associations and members of the public should take part in the vote to establish the winners.

Nowhere in the world is this done.

It is only journalists who should be voting in national sports contests, but this year their voting power has been reduced to 40 per cent.

We have gone back to the times when the contests were held jointly with the Malta Olympic Committee. Now, instead of the MOC, we have the Malta Sports Council. After a long, hard battle to get the MOC out of the national sports contests, the Sportswriters’ Association has teamed up again with another institution.

Good thing that I am no longer the association’s general secretary. I would have had to resign on this point of principle.

For this, and in protest against Dr Mifsud’s nomination, I will not be voting.

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